


Code of Conduct

by Verdic



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: DNDecember
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-07
Updated: 2017-12-07
Packaged: 2019-02-11 16:41:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12939393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Verdic/pseuds/Verdic
Summary: Rumil realizes his personal struggles are getting in the way of his future.





	Code of Conduct

“A knight is sworn to Valor

His heart knows only Virtue

His words speak only Truth

His might upholds the Meek

His wrath undoes the Wicked”

Rumil looked up at those words. He was kneeling in the central chamber of one of his order’s temples. He was reflecting on the words carved into the stone. Many people used the phrase “Nothing is written in stone”. He knew it was always contextual, but these were the core tenants of his order, and they were carved in stone. They allowed no room for question or annotation. 

Rumil was here out of choice, and not for the first time. He was in a crisis. Growing up on the streets had given him a much different outlook than most of the people who joined the Order of the Agies. They were either noble born or raised in the cloister, far away from the poverty and desperation of the streets. When Rumil had taken his vows nearly a decade before, he had been so sure. His adventuring had taken a toll though. He was associated with many good people, but most of them were wild children. Even his celestial mount was a prankster and often tested his patience. 

What troubled him the most was that he wanted to join them. He still remembered his time on the streets doing as her pleased. Rumil was grateful for the structure the strictures gave his life, but at times it was almost impossible to keep his oath. He had to part ways with multiple party members because of this tension. He knew that Larkin and Seraphina would only hang around so long before they both got fed up with him. He was rather amazed they had stuck together for the past six years. Most of their adventuring companions had left the party after a few months. Only Akmun and Moonflower had lasted longer than a year. 

Akmun and Moonflower, the muscle of the party, were willing to put up with Rumil because of the skills he had picked up on the streets and he always seemed to find a good fight. They had good hearts, if often those hearts became misplaced. Seraphina and Rumil shared a similar ethos and supplemented the party’s healing and protection. They made a good leadership to the party. 

Then there was Larkin. Larkin was a challenge. She was similar to Moonflower and Akmun, but she actually put up with him. She provided the arcane support, but required almost constant healing. Maybe she stayed because he always saved healing for her. It could also be that she had become good friends with Seraphina and only tolerated Rumil. He shook his head. His thoughts were getting clouded with what ifs. He looked back up at the vow he had taken, and his mind cleared.

Breathing rhythmically, he thought through all of their interactions. She was antagonistic to him, at times when there was no reason. But her antagonism was never unjustly cutting or hurtful. It was almost as playful as his unicorn’s antagonism. She often chose a watch that made them come into contact and she often rode or walked next to him, so her antagonism couldn’t be from dislike. She was always asking what vows he had sworn. Recently, she had been teasing him about the vow of chastity. He had never taken one, but acted as if he had. She didn’t know he never took one and always brought it up when it would embarrass him the most.   
He chuckled and stood. Striding to the stable, he found his Unicorn, Maximus, out in the pasture with the rest of their steeds. Rumil walked over and stocked his friend’s flank. 

“I need a question answered.” Rumil said. “Does Larkin like me? Not in a general sense, but in a…romantic way.” Maximus looked at him with one large eye, and started snickering. It got to the point where he started wheezing, his sides heaving, and tears in his eyes. “I take that as a yes.” Rumil rolled his eyes and left the pasture for the tavern that was across the way from the chapter house.

Rumil walked up to the tavern door. He had not been in his hometown for over a dozen years, since he went away for his paladin training. Walking back through would bring him back into the world he inhabited as a child and young teenager. He took a deep breath and pushed the doors open. The rocous sounds of the tavern welcomed him. It made him smile. The place was just like any other tavern he and his friends had visited, but this one had that special feeling like he was coming home. 

He walked up to the bar and pulled down his veil and face mask. He waited for a few minutes before the proprietor came over. “Can I get a Swing sting?” he asked, slipping into the local urchin cant. The proprietor looked up, stunned, seeing the tabard of a paladin. Finally, his eyes met Rumil’s. Recognition spread over his face.

“Hey everyone, the prodigal son returns.” He boomed out. Rumil flushed. He hadn’t told his companions this was his home town. He looked over and saw his teammates filled with a mix of reactions. He was about to go over when a hand on his shoulder stopped him. He turned around to see Kimi, his longest friend.

“Well, I never thought I would see you again.” She smiled and pulled him into a hug, one he didn’t resist. When they finally pulled away, he saw that she was wearing brightly colored clothing, cut to be slightly revealing. Rumil forgot himself for a moment, a nice memory intruding into his mind.

“How have you been, little sister?” He asked, using the title he had given her. “Would you care to join my friends and me?”

“I’d love to.” She said. 

“Amrey, have they gotten rooms yet?” Rumil pointed at his group.

“No,” Amrey, the proprietor, said. “They said they were waiting for their friend to get the rooms.” Rumil chuckled. It was his turn to pay for the rooms. An idea formed in his head.

“We will take three rooms.” He said, a smile threatening to break free on his face. “Can I get two keys for each one?” Amrey chuckled and gave him the keys. “Now, lets go introduce you.” Rumil and Kimi walked to the table.

“Kimi, these are my friends. The druid Seraphina, the wardancer Moonflower, Akmun the Berzerker, and the esteemed sorceress Larkin. Guys, this is Kimi. We go back a long ways.” Rumil smiled at his friends and sat down after offering Kimi a seat. Larkin saw the quick, withering glare that Larkin gave her.

“Don’t sugar coat it, Mr. Oh-So-Noble street rat.” Kimi teased. “He found me when I was an orphan and helped keep me alive on the streets. By the time he was arrested, there were no locks in this town he hadn’t picked.” She gave Rumil a wink. “I’d call him big brother, and he would call me little sister. It makes what we did seem a little weird now.” She let out a melodious laugh as he blushed. Larkin hopped off her stool and marched off. “I’m sorry, I won’t tell more. Besides, I should go. I’m on stage in a few minutes and I have to get ready.”

Rumil groaned silently as Akmun and Moonflower congratulated him. He passed them the keys to the room they would share. He looked over at Seraphina. She was merely leaning back in her chair, looking at him. He handed her one of the keys to her room. Her eyes shifted to where Larkin had stomped off too. Rumil smothered a sigh and followed the last member of his party.

He found Larkin sitting out with Maximus, petting his flanks. Her familiar frog familiar, Pippen, was sitting on top of her mass of curls and croaked as Rumil came into view. Larkin didn’t turn away from Maximus.

“I’m sorry.” Rumil said. “I didn’t think she would bring that up. We were close as children. Without her to care for, there were many instances where I may not have become the man I am today…or even become a man.” He sighed as she still hadn’t turned around. “We both have moved on. I hope you know that.” He placed two keys onto Maximus’s back. One was for Seraphina’s room, which was her normal accommodation. The other was for the room he had rented for himself.

“What’s the second key for?” Larkin asked, voice gloomy.

“So you have options.” Rumil said, not wanting to pressure her into anything. With a smile, he walked away and back into the tavern. 

Later that night, well after everyone had gone to sleep, Rumil was sitting up looking at the stars. He no longer required more than 2 hours of sleep each night and had taken to star gazing and astrology. As the minutes slowly ticked away, his heart grew heavier. Perhaps the incident earlier with Kimi had hurt Larkin. He had hoped that she understood that by giving her the extra key to his room, she would realize he had not taken a vow of chastity. Maybe she knew what he had meant and didn’t want him, now that he was no longer unobtainable. He had heard that was something people liked to do, chase after the unobtainable. Perhaps he had overstepped his…

His thoughts were interrupted as he heard a key quietly enter the lock and open the door. “Can I sleep here tonight?” Rumil’s heart did a somersault as her heard Larkin ask that question.

“I’d love that.” He said, turning to see her smile matching his own.


End file.
